Last spring, I interned at the Texas Senate during the legislative session. While I expected to witness partisan spats at every turn, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of bills received overwhelmingly bipartisan support.
Although we tend to view politicians from different parties as ideological opposites, my experience showed me there is more common ground between them than we may think. In today’s tense political atmosphere, we must recognize and appreciate common ground in politics.
It is no secret that hot-button topics like abortion and LGBTQIA+ rights divide state lawmakers along party lines. But our primary focus on these issues — amplified by excessive media coverage — can prevent us from understanding that the legislature passes hundreds of bipartisan, non-controversial laws for every partisan, controversial one.
“More than 90% of the bills (the Texas Legislature deals) with are not controversial. … (That is) something that only becomes apparent upon closer inspection,” said Joshua Blank, director of research for the Texas Politics Project. “But for most people, most voters, what you’re (going to) hear about at the end of the legislative session is only the most extreme legislation.”
Allowing a few contentious bills to dictate our perception of political polarization is dangerous and insincere. Public opinion on polarization may contribute to mutually negative views of the opposing party.
While lawmakers certainly do not agree on every policy point, political disagreements are less the norm and more the exception. Beneath the partisan squabbles on a handful of charged issues, elected representatives are eager to find and act upon common ground.
“On the one hand, (the Legislature is) an incredibly partisan environment,” Blank said. “It’s also an institution that exhibits an incredible degree of bipartisanship and collegiality and moves thousands of bills every year that most Texans will never be aware of, but, nonetheless, are necessary for the functioning of the state.”
This session, Texas lawmakers passed several bipartisan — and often unanimous — bills related to topics like mental health audits and programs, funds for vital agencies like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and electricity service for underserved communities. Because such bills revolve around more mundane issues, they typically gain less media attention and fly under the public radar.
“If there’s a bias in the media, it’s towards things like conflict,” Blank said. “It’s just about the mixture of what the press uses to cover, but also, what the public pays attention to.”
Engaged citizens must recognize that highly publicized legislative divides do not necessarily indicate constant political discord. In reality, most bills the Texas Legislature passes result from diligent collaboration between lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. These legislative successes challenge the stereotype of politicians as dysfunctional and prove that our two parties can still build consensus on important issues.
“Civility … is a feature, not a bug, in the Texas Legislature,” said Tom Giovanetti, President of the Institute for Policy Innovation in Irving, Texas. “Self-government requires compromise. Self-government is not one side ruling over the other … Compromise is actually a necessity that is built into the system.”
Common ground in politics may not always be a matter of common sense, but it is commonplace. We must recognize this middle ground to better appreciate the nuances of our two-party system. Our more informed outlook will nurture a new generation of change agents who believe in governmental institutions and are willing to compromise with dignity.
Gokhale is a finance sophomore from Allen, Texas.
